When the Albany Art Room, previously on Madison Avenue near Lark Street, closed its doors, owner Karen Schupack thought it would be a short-term closure.

That was two years ago. Now she's finally preparing to reopen her business in a new, permanent location. In a two-story house on New Scotland Avenue, Schupack is putting the final touches on the new space, which will give art students, both children and adults, more room to create. The new Albany Art Room will open on Saturday, offering open studio time as well art classes.

Raised by an artist and having made art her whole life, Schupack didn't decide to make a career in art until relatively recently. After studying architecture as an undergraduate and getting master's degrees in historic preservation and elementary education, Schupack devoted her life to community development work in low-income neighborhoods and teaching and administration in independent schools. After a stint as teacher and then co-director at an independent school, Schupack decided she was ready to run something on her own.

"I didn't want a board of directors or supervisors. I was just ready to do my own thing," she said. Her own thing, she realized, was art. Returning to a life filled with art and art making, but in a viable way that could also still serve the community, seemed the perfect solution.

It made sense to Schupack for two reasons. "I'd always liked taking art classes. I was living in Albany and driving to Troy for classes at the Art Center. I thought, 'Albany's big enough, there should be a place to take art classes,'" Schupack said.

The second reason was her young daughter. "I wanted to do art projects with her, but I hesitated to do the really messy, fun things because it was such a pain. I started to think of a place where people could get messy, have fun and not have the stress of it happening in their house." Schupack, now living in Delmar, took a leap, figuring she wasn't the only one who wanted these things.

Having been involved in nonprofit organizations, Schupack faced a steep learning curve in opening a retail business. She went through the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce's Entrepreneur Boot Camp and learned to write a business plan. She also met people who, seven years later, are still helping her with the occasional questions about running a business.

The boot camp prepared her well, but one thing she hadn't counted on was how difficult finding a space could be.

She rented her first space, but it was too expensive to be viable in the long term. Before she closed the doors to that location, she gave herself six months to find a new one. It took two years. In the interim, she found a space to hold a limited number of classes, but she and her loyal customers were anxious to find a permanent home.

Buying the building and getting a use variance, because the neighborhood isn't zoned for retail, went smoothly. She received plenty of support for establishing the business there. "Everyone was happy to have this in their neighborhood," she said.

Elizabeth Dubben, director of exhibitions at Saratoga Arts Center, as well as an Albany parent and former Art Room instructor, thinks Schupack has succeeded by building a business based on the needs of the community. According to Dubben, "It's filled a void in the city of Albany. There's no other place where you can take a diverse range of classes or just drop in and work on your own art project."

That range of offerings has also drawn a community of diverse artists. People of all ages, income brackets and nationalities come together, speaking several languages, in the classes and open studios. "I've been amazed at the diversity of people who end up in a room together making art," Schupack said.

Being a small business owner has its challenges. Although she's optimistic about future projections, Schupack has yet to see a profit. It also has its rewards. For Schupack, one of those is seeing people who have never had the opportunity to make art come in and try it.

"It's so much fun to see when someone realizes what they're capable of doing. That's been the most exciting part of the business," Schupack said.